Bank of America spending $250M a year on GLP-1 weight loss drugs

Moynihan told CNBC the bank's full yearly healthcare fund exceeds $2 billion, which means GLP-1 drugs person grown to correspond astir 13 cents of each dollar the institution spends connected worker health. "We walk astir $250 cardinal oregon much connected GLPs, and that's up from zero" 4 oregon 5 years ago, helium said.

Alongside the cause coverage, Moynihan said the slope offers wellness coaching truthful employees person enactment arsenic they way changes successful their value and regular habits. He besides cited emerging probe indicating the medications could little the likelihood of cardiovascular events successful the shorter term, connected apical of their well-documented long-range wellness benefits. Moynihan acknowledged that immoderate employees whitethorn permission the institution earlier it realizes the semipermanent savings from improved health, but said the payment remains a worthwhile offering.

The slope is besides utilizing its standard to property drugmakers and pharmacy payment managers for little prices. "Believe me, we're pounding everybody connected terms and trying to get arsenic inexpensive [as possible]," Moynihan said. "But our presumption is that [because of] the semipermanent wellness benefits, positive determination whitethorn beryllium much short-term wellness benefits ... it's a bully investment."

GLP-1 medications similar Ozempic and Wegovy, with terms tags that tin scope into the thousands of dollars annually for a azygous patient, person enactment employers nationwide successful a hard presumption arsenic request climbs. A July survey from the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans — an enactment representing much than 30,000 companies and nationalist institutions — recovered that 36% of employers widen GLP-1 sum to workers managing some diabetes and value loss. That fig is up from 34% successful 2024 but level compared with 2025, the survey found. Among those employers, GLP-1 drugs accounted for 11.4% of yearly claims successful 2026, up from 6.9% successful 2023, according to the aforesaid survey.

Obesity drugmakers Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk person been moving to grow leader coverage, which is cardinal to broader diligent uptake of their treatments. Lilly moved successful March to marque sum much charismatic to employers by introducing a multi-dose mentation of Zepbound priced astatine a nett discounted complaint of $449 per month, careless of dose, according to CNBC.